Realistic Wounds

The resources in this section discuss and present evidence to show what effect a rapier wound might have on the body. Both modern medical information and historical accounts are included in these articles.

The Dubious Quick Kill: Part 1 & Part 2 – by Maestro Frank LurzTwo-part article about swords wounds and their possible effects on the respiratory, musculature, skeletal, and nervous systems.

The Science and History of Rapier Wounds and Deaths – by Iolo FitzOwen and Christian Richard DupreSummarizes the findings of a 1976 forensics paper on stab wounds, sites historical accounts of rapier injuries, and details the results of tests done by the authors to simulate sword wounds in order to evaluate how accurate SCA blow calling rules are to what would actually have happened in period.

Medical Reality of Historical Wounds – by Richard Swinney and Scott CrawfordArticle published in SPADA 2. Discusses some of the unrealistic expectations historic fencers have about sword injuries and attempts to replace those false expectations with more realistic ones.